The document discusses the student's experience crossing the Ohio River bridge every day to get to school. It then lists several questions that arose from this experience, including the type of bridge the Ohio River Bridge is (a cantilever bridge), the main types of bridges, some historical bridges like the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges, and that there are over 594,000 highway bridges in the United States.

1. Bridges Inquiry Project By: Jessica Goolsby

2. What My Experience Was Since I live in Henderson, KY, I have to cross the bridge to come to school everyday. I probably take the Ohio River bridge for granted since I use it so often. It made me wonder about bridges in general and how long they have been around.

3. Questions that arose from the experience What type of bridge is the Ohio River Bridge? What kinds are there? Who’s idea was it? What are some historical bridges? How many are in the United States?

4. What type of bridge is the Ohio River Bridge? It is a Cantilever Bridge also known as a Truss Bridge

5. What kinds are there? There are four major types of bridges -Beam -Arch -Suspension -Cantilever

6. Beam Bridges The beam type is the simplest type of bridge. The beam bridge could be anything as simple as a plank of wood to a complex structure. It is made of two or more supports which hold up a beam.

7. Arch Bridges In the arch type of bridge, weight is carried outward along two paths, curving toward the ground.

8. Suspension Bridges The deck (trafficway) of a suspension bridge is hung by cables which hang from towers. The cables transfer the weight to the towers, which transfer the weight to the ground. Cable-stayed bridges have towers, but cables from the towers go directly to the road deck, instead of spanning from tower to tower.

9. Cantilever In the cantilever type of bridge, two beams support another beam, which is where the deck or trafficway is. The two beams must be anchored, and this must be done well.

10. Who’s idea was it? There is not a specific person to credit with the invention of the bridge, but it dates back to ancient times. People near water built bridges to go from one side to the other.

11. What are some historical bridges? Golden Gate Bridge located in San Francisco, CA Brooklyn Bridge located in Manhattan, NY Royal Gorge Bridge located in Canyon City, CO Verrazano Narrows Bridge located in Staten Island, NY

12. Golden Gate Bridge

13. Brooklyn Bridge

14. Royal Gorge Bridge

15. Verrazano Narrows Bridge

16. How many bridges are in the U.S.? As of October 2004 there are 594,470 highway bridges in the United States. This includes all bridges of 20 foot or greater length that carry roadways open to the public. It does not include railroad bridges.

17. Connections with Indicators 3.1.4 Give examples of people, events and developments that brought important changes to the regions of Indiana. 3.1.6 Chronological Thinking, Historical Comprehension, Analysis and Interpretation, Research: Use a variety of community resources to gather information about the regional communities. 3.3.5 Places and Regions: Observe and describe the physical characteristics of Indiana using words and illustrations and compare them to the characteristics of neighboring states. 3.3.9 Human Systems: Identify factors that make the region unique, including cultural diversity, industry, the arts and architecture.

18. References Bunting, Eve (2006). Pop's Bridge San Francisco, CA: Harcourt, Inc. Kaner, Etta (2009). Bridges Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press. Landau, Elaine (2001). Bridges (True Books : Buildings and Structures) . United States:Groiler Publishing. Sturges, Philemon (1998). Bridges Are to Cross . New York, NY: C.G. Putnam’s Sons. Bridges in the US Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://abcdpittsburgh.org/FAQ1.htm Bridge Hunter Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://bridgehunter.com Wikipedia Bridges Retrieved September 20, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge